


The world through your eyes

by zerozerokyu



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: 00Q Reverse Bang, Emotional Hurt, James Bond Being James Bond, M/M, Q Branch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-07 14:59:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13437255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zerozerokyu/pseuds/zerozerokyu
Summary: What do you do when your broken heart still long for him after he had broken it countless times?How will you react to seeing the world through his eyes.Q was just trying to do some work while James want to see Q. An unfortunate incident cause them to grow closer. And learn things about each other.





	1. Boom goes my heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [azure7539](https://archiveofourown.org/users/azure7539/gifts).



> Hello this would be my first 00Q Reverse Big Bang. Super excited to post it!!! I hope you like it!

A sleek ebony black 2016 Jaguar F-type R Coupe cruised down the street as it made a smooth turn into Vauxhall underground car park. James smiled at finally being back after a long mission in Prague. He parked at the designated area for staff and slid out of the driver seat, allowing his hands to brush against the mahogany leather of the car’s fittings a moment longer than necessary.  She was a beauty to behold, the pinnacle of British automotive engineering, with a 550 horsepower,5-liter V8 engine and a purred like a beautiful lady with delight. James wondered if he might be deeply smitten with her from considering the amount of time he spent behind her wheel when off duty. While many held the misconception of his love for Aston Martins, James always held an appreciation for good continental cars.

 

With a quick tap of his key card and security clearances, he navigates himself to Q-branch before he must face Mallory for his long debrief about his ‘successful’ mission. He felt nary a twinge of remorse for the amount of damage left in his wake, he has succeeded in capturing the asset and moved it back safely. The damages could burn in hell.

 

It was lunchtime and the corridors were crowding from minions streaming out of the branch for some lunch. James peripheral vision picked up a few walking by him with some lunch bags and cups of coffee, rubbing their tired eyes. He always marvelled at the wonder of Q-branch’s round the clock activity. He’d admitted to himself on occasion that he wouldn’t be surprised if they have living quarters within the labyrinth of tunnels that the branch occupies. It has always been a wonder how they keep track with the amount of area they occupy underground. Q-branch looks very much like any stereotypical mad genius lair.

 

Q’s at the plinth as usual scanning from one screen to another, his usual stoic expression curled into a frown across his soft face, making him seem unaware of Bond’s approach.

 

“Morning 007, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” the quartermaster continues tapping away lines of codes only acknowledging with a quick glance up.

 

“Q,” Bond returned the greeting with a curt nod, simultaneously evading the need to answer his question. Q quirked his eyebrow as he glances up from his computer again to scan him from head to toe. He is assessing Bond’s intentions before he sighed and went back to work. Bond took it as a clear answer that he has permission to be in the branch.

 

Bond smirked and crept up behind Q to peek at the boffin’s screen. The boffin’s fingers flew across the keyboard as lines and lines of codes appear on the screen. To him, it was just jumbles of words and symbols. After a soft thud on the keyboard, Q closed the program he was working in and rolled his sore shoulders. It cracked with a loud pop and he stood up to get to his lab.

 

Bond trailed him closely behind as the minions part them a clear path towards their destination. The minions learn to not get in the way of the double oh’s when they come in for their ‘visits’ especially when it comes to 007. He might be a pain to deal with but as long as he is around Q, everyone is safe from him and his charms.

 

“Why are you following me? Leave 007 unless you have equipments to return from your less than productive mission.”

 

“I do have equipments and assets to return. Most of all I have some grievances to settle with you.”

 

Q rolled his eyes and pick up his pace to swipe a card to enter his laboratory, the only place safe from all the annoying humans around. A soft hiss of air was emitted as the door shut behind them. Sure enough, Bond is with him slowly scanning the gadgets and experiments scattered all over the room in varying stages of completion. He does not enjoy having anyone other than himself and a few selected few in his personal lair as his minions endearingly named it.

 

Nicknames were a big thing for the employees of the Q branch and they love coming up with many nicknames for people and places in MI6. Q had been dubbed as the “Overlord” while they collectively referred to themselves as “Minions” and they dress like one at every games day or during Halloween, even going as far as speaking in gibberish the whole time. The tea that Q drinks without fail as “Life juice” as he gets grumpy when the tea runs low. R is known as “Dancing Queen” after she set the highest and remain the reigning champion at the dancing game Q branch have created after many attempts by others to overthrow her score. The cafeteria of MI6 has been dubbed as “The Zombie land” from the number of tired minions who lumber around in there and the emptiness of it. And James Bond was “Blue-eyed monster” for obvious reason of causing utter chaos and terror to the minions whenever he drops by. That is to name a few that he found out so far from his minions.

 

Q grinned to himself as he recalls all the nicknames the minions gave to their agents. He heard throat clearing and schooled his expression back to neutral to entertain his uninvited guest to his personal space.

 

“Wear this and don't you dare touch anything or I swear 007, I will send you into your next mission with nothing but a paperclip. I’m warning you now.” Q ground his teeth at the thought and tossed Bond an apron as he tied his own around his waist and clipped on a tool pouch.

 

As much as Bond is the biggest thorn in the butt, Q does enjoy his visit the most. He will never admit it out loud but so far, he feels that he could get along the best with him. From their back and forth bantering during missions and Bond haunting Q-branch when he is being grounded. Q knew he is playing with fire by enjoying this relationship a lot more than he is supposed to after Bond had left him for Dr Swann. And just when he felt his heart had been ripped right out of his chest and the grieving was done, this monster in a suit just waltzes straight back into MI6 and into his branch as if he has never left, as if the time he'd spent away hadn't changed anything.

 

Q is still licking his wounds from being abandoned, a leopard never changes their spots. He learned that the hard way by doing everything for him, but he gives him nothing but pain and trouble. Q learn to guard his heart better now in fear that it will break yet again. There is only so much heartbreak a person can take before they get broken completely. Q don’t plan to break just because of him even if it pains him to see Bond daily. His heart always feels like it is about to explode either from happiness or sadness whenever Bond is around him.

 

He got into the creeper and slide under the newly rebuilt Aston Martin to work on it. Q wondered what he was thinking when he agreed to fix up the car that Bond brought back with a proverbial ton of bullets and shrapnel lodged in it.  The quartermaster’s only solace lying in that it proves that his new light shell proof coating works in the field to reduce damage and he returned the car in a better condition than usual, which was often little more than just a steering wheel.

 

“You said you had some grievances with me. What is it this time?” he tightens a bolt of the pipes.

 

“Ah… so you allow 004 to run around with the newest toys while little old me has to go into the field with the bare minimum. Oh for shame! How could you hand him the Q branch prototype laser cutter for field testing?! You wound me, Sir… and here I was under the impression I am your favourite?” raising a hand to his chest in mock hurt, Bond barely dodged the creeper as Q slid out from under the car and glares at him. The nerve of this idiot to question his lack of preferential treatment and then feigning hurt caused Q to roll his eyes before sliding out fully from beneath the vehicle.

 

“You never bring back any of my equipment and it is too precious for you to break. You might have brought back the prototype’s power source, but that does not earn you the right to one until I see you making an active attempt to return equipment in the condition it was issued to you.” with a huff, Q trod over to the workbench to look at the car newly drawn blueprints of his own design. He is very proud of the idea he came up and is happily thinking of more ways to make it better as he scratches away on the papers.

 

“What is this for? It’s glowing.”

 

Q was planning to ignore that comment until he heard the word glowing. His head shot up from the blueprints with terror in his eyes. The power source is not supposed to glow unless it was destabilized.

 

“James… Put it back slowly and gently into the case.”

 

“What’s wrong Q?”

 

“No time James. Take cover!”

 

Within the few seconds of James dropping the laser cutter into the case, a huge explosion rocked the building. Both were flung back against the wall, rendering them unconscious while fires began licking papers that were scattered on the floor like a hungry kitten with a bowl of milk, and crackling, slowly creeping to the more flammable liquids spitting up showers of sparks as plums of black grey smoke float across the room and filled it up.

 

A series of beeping sounded with close interval before a cloud of fire extinguishing powers were released from the ceiling. With a snap of a finger, the room full of fire was extinguished. Medical team and Q-branch rushed in to retrieve the injured. A very pale and limp Quartermaster was carried out on a stretcher followed by Bond whose face was contorted in pain as the medical team work to remove them from the contaminated clothes. The contaminated clothes are stripped off and their vital signs are checked.

 

R’s knuckles are white from how tightly she was balling her fist. Looks of fear and panic are evident on the minions, as they crowded around praying hard their Overlord is well. The medical team nodded at them to indicate that they seem fine. An audible sigh washed over everyone.

 

“Medical, take them in and make sure they are check for concussion. Jillian, you go to Eve and tell her what happened down here. Rob, get the clean-up team here and shut the entire tunnel leading here.” R barked out commands as she followed the two stretchers to medical.

 

The minions scatter away once the two injured are brought away from the accident zone. Those who loiter around the area are promptly shooed away by R with the wave of hands. As much as their worries are appreciated by her, Q-branch still must keep running like a well-oiled machine even if Q is not around for the moment. Threats to England does not take days off even if the Quartermaster is out cold along with MI6’s most “efficient” agent.

 

****

 

His eyes shot open as his limbs flexed in shock. In addition to his headache, everything was blurry and too bright for his liking. The smell that hit his nostril, predominantly that of overzealously applied industrial strength antimicrobial cleaners and possibly bleach made his stomach turn. Bright lights hurt his eyes causing him to groan and cover his face with the scratchy blanket. After a few minutes, he uncovers his face. He blinks,   his eyes, and blink again in hope of adjusting to the blinding light. He feels horrible and his head hurts. There is pounding in his skull and he wanted nothing more than to smash his skull in just to end the pain.

 

As he is staring up at the white ceiling with much too bring lights he wonders where is at. His body feels weird as if it has gone through a spin cycle of the dryer. All he could remember was a loud sound and everything going black. Finally, his brain clicked together and the memories of the incident came rushing into his mind, he nearly choked in horror of what had transpired. There was a huge explosion and they were flung into the wall from the full force. He guesses that he is now in the medical bay from the smell of disinfectant, the scratchy blanket and the backless gown that seemed intent on exposing his butt to the cold wind.  He winced, he is truly in trouble now if he is already not in trouble in the beginning.

 

As he is thinking of all the things he just caused, he does not notice the footsteps approaching his bed. By the time he managed to squint and make out the people approaching he knew the game is over. He is in the deepest trouble anyone could get into. He mentally kisses his job good-bye and started doing a mental calculation on how long his savings can cover him after paying back the damage.

 

He mentally himself as he watches M storm up to his bed with Eve following closely behind with the clipboard of doom. He put on a brave face and willed himself to calmness as he awaited his doom.

 

“How are you feeling?” M calmly asked him.

 

“I’m fine other than a splitting headache and soreness all over.” He masters a smile to defuse the building tension.

 

“You should count yourself lucky after the explosion. You finally did it _007_. You blew up Q’s lab and put our precious quartermaster's life in danger. What were you thinking you imbecile? Don’t deny it this time. I had enough of you endangering our Q-branch employees’ lives just to sate your boredom.”

 

He blinked his eyes in confusion and shook his head trying to understand what M just said. He must have heard it wrong. _Endanger lives? Imbecile? 007?_ He must be going mad. Did M just called him _‘007’?_

 

“With all due respect sir... this incident could have been avoided in the first place if you'd implemented my proposal and kept 007 out of Q-branch unless absolutely necessary" he croaked out.

 

He frowned and coughed again to clear his throat. Now even his voice sounds strange, deeper than usual and odd. Seem like he took a lot more damage to his body than he initially expected. While being caught up in his thoughts, he failed to see the look of bewilderment that both M and Eve shared.

 

“Are you sure you are all right?” questioned Eve with concern in her voice.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“I had enough of your games, _Bond_. You clearly need rest. Banning yourself from the lab. This is a first after you have turned Q-branched into your haunt and scaring off my employees. Do you know how many time of the Q-branch employees coming into request your access being revoked?” M hissed at him.

 

“Stop calling me _007_. You got the wrong person, M” now he is frustrated.

 

M raised an eyebrow.

 

“It’s official, _007_ has gone mad. Sounds like his brain’s been fried.”

 

With that one simple sentence, M turned and walked out of the medical bay shaking his head. Leaving him discontented and even more perturbed. Eve gives him a sympathetic look and a pat on the arm before she walked off. He still wondered how she managed to walk around in those heels. It did seem to make her butt sway in a nice way.

 

He huffed loudly and decided the best thing to go next was to get more sleep to recover. Everything has been weird ever since he woke up. M is miffed at him and he feels ghastly. He decided the best course of action was just to sleep it off. Rest and recuperate. His own version of R&R but in the medical bay.

 

“Mr _Bond,_ could you kindly sit up? We have to take your blood samples again for testing.” a young nurse smiles at him nervously.

 

He raised an eyebrow and shove his arm to her to take his blood. He watches as the needle sunk into his vein and draws out, blood coating the syringe crimson. As she turns away to transfer the liquid into a vial. She thanks him for being cooperative. He swung his leg to the side and tried to get off his bed. He is tired of lying around and needed to answer to nature's call. He lumbered slowly to his destination as he held on to his IV pole for support. His back hurts, his legs feel like lead and he tried to bite back a grunt of pain.

 

Not long before he could reach the door, a panicky nurse rush to him tries to stop him from taking another step in fear he will fall or get hurt. He gave her an assuring smile and thank her for her concern and brave on to the bathroom.

 

Once the door slide shut he leaned on to the bathroom door exhaled. A lot has happened since he woke up. He is just thankful he has not lost his job. He loves his work, it thankless work but he always enjoys it. Saving lives, keeping England safe from the mad man’s wishing to bring her down. And it pays his mortgages, keeps his two cats fed and ensure he can buy an apartment. Home. An empty apartment he calls home, no one to greet him or to go back to except to his two beautiful cats. He scrubbed his tired face and walked to the porcelain sink.

 

The light in the bathroom was bright and sterile, lacking even a trace of warmth. He cold as he shivers from the cold wind blowing into his open back hospital gown.  He felt like a child again who is lacking in motor skills. He can’t command his limbs to move the way he likes and his voice is bothering him to no extent. He turned the water to cold and splashed water on his face in hope of shocking himself into alertness.

 

He raised this head to looked into the mirror and a blood-curdling scream escaped his lips.


	2. What's yours is mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get weird when Q try to figure out what is wrong with his body when he woke up from the explosion. Why does his voice sounds weird and M just called him an imbecil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2. I hit my target chapter I had set for myself to be posted by the challenge date. Will be working on next chapter soon slowly.
> 
> Just take note that the Italic with the name means it is the other person in the body.  
> Like _James_ = That is what others call Q while he is in James body.  
>  _Q_ = What others call James as they think that is Q

 

The scream tore through him like a great shard of glass. He felt his eyes widen and pulse quicken, his heart thudding like a rock rattling in a box. The blood drained from his face. It was the kind of scream that made your blood run cold.

Staring wide eyes and full of panic back at him was the reflection of a stranger. He shook his head couple of time and blinked repeatedly hoping it was just his brain playing trick at him A very cruel trick. How could he not recognize his own reflection? _Mirrors can’t lie, can they?_ He frantically felt behind the mirror for false walls and cables, hoping hard it would just be a television screen and his minions are playing tricks on him. Alas, it is just a plain mirror that is being hung in the bathroom without anything special.

 

He rubs his eyes with the pad of his palm and it centre back to the face that is not his own. His eyes roam freely from one feature to another and it in his brain. As the gears in his brain slowly shift, he gasped at the face that is not his. This is the cruellest joke ever. One that his logical scientific brain could not wrap itself around.

 

Right in front of him stands _Bond, James Freaking Bond._ The man who is notorious for being a womanizer, trigger-happy, ghastly at caring for his equipment, lover of fast cars, a man of many mysteries… And the list of all Bond is filtered through his brain.

 

Q feels queasy yet again. His stomach contract in warning telling him that if he decides to let his mind run again, it will push out acid juice. Q decides to slap himself to snap himself out of the daydream. It hurts and he concludes that he is indeed in Bond’s body and not going insane. He let a long sigh out as he inspects his face again, pulling and pinching his cheeks and neck. He is not dreaming, he is now trapped in the body of Bond. The new body feels foreign to him from how his fingers curls as he moves it.

 

“This makes no sense. This not scientifically possible.” his knees give way and he collapsed to the cold white tiles of the bathroom with a thud.

 

A soft knock came on the door.

 

“ _Mr Bond,_ are you fine in there?” came a concerned voice.

 

Q wide eyes and realize the reason why he is in the bathroom. He got to pee badly this instance. His bladder is full and it hurts to hold it in any longer. But he does not want to handle another man’s junk.

 

“I’ll be out soon.”

 

He breathes out and navigates himself to let it all out. He is not ready for this. It is not his body and not his to touch but the sharp pain at the bladder gives him no choice. He screwed his eyes shut and pull it out to let nature calls happen. It is a weird feeling handling it. He had to stop himself from peeking but his dignity stopped his curiosity. It is simply rude to look at another man’s willy without permission. He giggles at that though and finished up to wash his hands. After a short hobble to the door, he slides it open to come face to face with a concerned nurse who is jittering on the spot. He relays his apologies for taking his own time and got back to his bed.

 

Now Q has to think of how this mysterious incident happened. This is not normal at all. Although Q-branch deals with many out of the world incidents like a mad psychopath who wants to blow England up but this, this borders on fantasy. He is not ready for this not when he just woke from a bloody blast that could have killed him. The nurse checked that he is fine and drew the curtains to give him more privacy.

 

 _“Gie yer hans aff me!”_ a roar along with the noise of metal trays clanging on the floor attracts Q’s attention to the left of his bed. Seems like there is another patient in shock after waking up. It is a usual occurrence in MI6 medical especially with agents who went down during missions. They are not yet tune down from mission mode they are in. With some help and sedative, they will calm and the medical staffs will monitor their improvement.

 

Q rolled his eyes at the ruckus from the other side of the curtain. He has better thing to worry about like how to get his body back instead of his noisy “neighbour”. Q just want to get discharged soon since there is nothing for medical to do for him until they could magically give his body back. He reached for the tablet at his bed and read through his health reports. Everything is fine. A few cuts on the various part of his skin, thankfully not too deep. No signs of concussion or broken bones. He is glad nothing serious has occurred while he was out. Good to know James’s body is not fragile like “normal” human bodies. He clicks his tongue wondering how to get himself out of this place and back to his branch soon. He prayed hard something has occurred while he is out of commission for 6 hours or so it says. You never know when the mice will come out to play when the cat is gone. _‘Murphy's law is a bitch’,_ he curses internally as he places the tablet back to its original spot.

 

More noise of items falling and the loud footstep of someone running could be heard. Q’s curiosity is peaked at the ruckus from the other side of the curtain. He drew the curtain ajar and catch a glimpse of a young man in hospital garb with his back open. His body is thin but not skinny, he will describe it as lithe. He has a body of a dancer and a head of wild messy brown curls of hair. ‘Ah, one of the minions must have been injured in the explosion too.’ Q though as he watches the young man. The mysterious young man is trying hard to run away from the terrified nurse on his wobbly legs and he fell on his knees. He pushes himself off the floor in another attempt to escape. The young nurse who was attending to him not too long ago lightly held his shoulder and the boy elbowed her to get free. It amuses him to watch one of his minions put up so much fight when his minions are famously described as docile by the rest of MI6.

 

He draws the curtain for a better view of the scene happening ‘Hmm that mole looks exactly like mine’, he thought to himself as he muses at the scene in front of him. ‘Oh wait!’ Q’s eyes widened in realization. Everything clicks in his brain and he internally screamed at himself to do something.  

 

“Stop my body,” Q shouted at the person who is piloting his body before he could stop himself.

 

His body is finally cornered after much evasion. He pressed himself up against the corner, protecting his back from attacks and holding his fist up in a fighting stance. Q bite down his inner cheek to stop himself from laughing at the strange sight. It is oddly weird seeing his own body with a messy head of hair trying to fight his way out. “I’m warnin' ye noo. Staun back!” his body shouted at the advancing nurses. ‘Clearly whoever is currently in his body has not realized that he or she is in the wrong one.’  Q muse as he watches his body track the movement like a cornered prey.

 

“ _Mr Q,_ there is no need to fight. You just woke up from an explosion and clearly in shock. We understand it is a scary experience especially what you have gone through. Calm down and let us approach you. All will be fine.” a cautious young nurse approach him slowly with small steps.

 

A look of confusion passed James's face before he morphed it back to blank. _“I hae seen mair bloodier things than an explosion.Aam nae Q ye dimwits.”_

 

Q’s eyebrow raised from hearing those words. Why is his bloody body speaking with a Scottish accent? Q stepped forward and watch his body. He scans his body for visible bruises. His body has a few shallow cuts and scratches. From his observation, it is nothing too serious to fuss about unless they are all internal which that person who is piloting the body is doing a great job pretending to be fine. Q feels strange seeing himself through James’s eyes.

 

The person in his body tracked everyone again and shift away from the approaching nurse, keep his distance like a trained professional. Everyone who gets hired by MI6 has to go through mandatory self-defence training. For all those who held higher positions like himself, he was put through “torture train” as it was called to ensure he will not divulge any sensitive secrets when he is captured and tortured. Q shivers at the thought of the training he was put through after he became the quartermaster. He hates it.

 

The eyes of his body move and fell on him. Their eyes locked and the eyes of his body widen. _“Whit is mah body daein' thera.”_ the person in his body screeched out before he is tackled by two male nurses who took that chance to drag his body back to bed.

 

“Ah...That explains who is occupying my body. That looks like it is going to hurt. I'm glad I'm not in that body but those nurses are getting their earnings redirected to a cat shelter for abusing my body or if they leave even a single bruise on my body.” Q murmurs to no one in particular.

 

The nurse assigned to him quizzically ask “Excuse me what were you saying, _Mr Bond_?”

 

“Nothing.Nothing at all.” Q chucked and smiled back at her. A slight hint of blush appears on her cheeks as she excuses herself to attend to more paperwork. _‘Note to self. Don’t charm anyone by accident.’_ Q though, massaging his sore wrist as he went to his body... _no not his body for the moment_ he thought. It is now James’s body since he is occupying his body for an unknown time. For this period of time until he can undo what is scientifically impossible in his mind.

 

Q slip into the area unnoticed where they are holding James. James is struggling as his body is being strapped down to the bed with thick straps to prevent self-harm. James is sputtering colourful insults at those who are strapping his limbs into the bed. The number of curses coming out of his own lips made Q want to tap it up before he made himself look more like a fool. Those are the type of insults you will never repeat again unless you are barking mad.Q has always prided himself for being a good-tempered person who is sweet to all his staff as long as they do not provoke or actively insult him. But his patience and ability to stay calm has always been tested when he has to deal with the agents mainly those from Double Oh program.

 

James’s struggle stopped and his mouth drops into a loud gasp when he spots Q standing at the end of his bed giving the nurses enough time to draw his blood. They pulled the needle out of him resulting James to yelp in pain. Q is amused at this sigh of the tough 007 who yelp at the tiny needle being pulled out of his arm. Q has seen James survive bigger injuries than this. Bullet wounds, broken bones, deep cuts, you name it James have lived through them all.

 

Q patiently wait for the nurses to finish their work and leave as he waves them away with a charming smile before he turns to look at James again. Q picked up the tablet and check his ‘own’ body’s health status. ‘Hmm… Cuts. Bruising. Nothing bad. Great my body is good to use if and when I can get back into it soon enough.’ Q muses and places the tablet back in its place.

 

“Hello, James. As you can see, we are in a curious situation.”  Q slowly walk to James’s side, letting him process what he just say.

 

“ _'at is mah body,_ ” James exclaims with wide eyes and scanning him from head to toe.

 

“Yes James, I have your body and you have mine.” Q reach to run his finger through his own hair. Now Q could finally understand why people have commented that he has a hair like a birds nest, it is a mess that could not be tamed.

 

“But...Aam James.” James said it again for the second time of the day.

 

“Yes we have established that.I’m you and your me. Stop giving me that aghast look. Catch up, you dimwit.” Q snapped at Bond who is rapidly opening and closing his mouth like an imitation of a goldfish.

 

“Aam James,” James repeat it again slowly but doubt could be heard in his voice.

 

Q is starting to get the impression that he was saying this not as a way to annoy him or be funny but as a way of assuring himself of his own identity and sanity. Q could sympathize with him after he himself has gone through the same identity crisis not too long ago in the bathroom. Imagine the horror you face to see yourself wearing the face of another person. Q felt sorry for James from the pained expression he made until he hides it back into neutral. _‘Seems like James is still an agent even when he is in the wrong body.’_ Q nodded at the thought and he started thinking on ways to get them both away from this stuffy medical bay with the least suspicion.

 

“James...How do you… Where did that man go?!” Q turns to look at James and is terrified to see the bed previously occupied by James empty. He pushes open the privacy curtains to see James shakingly walking on his legs and he is struggling to right himself like a toddler learning how to walk, also because he is half blind without his glasses.

 

“James, I don’t appreciate you not showing off my bottom like a common toddler. Come back right now to bed.”

 

James turns and narrowed his eyes at him but the effect of his glare coming in short and comical like an annoyed kitten, cute rather than scary. The direct opposite of the effect James is planning to go for. Q could not help with a smile at James’s poor attempt to use his face to show his anger. Now Q could finally understand why agents, R and Eve thinks he is cute when he is angry after he saw his own body trying to be angry.

 

James tried again to glare at him. “Stop laughing Q. I want my body back. This is not funny.”

 

Q signal him to get back to his own bed and James obediently toddle back to sit on his bed and pout. James Bond - MI6 top agent, Britain's secret weapon and the biggest Casanova to ever exist is pouting like a little child after being told to get back to bed. Q is starting to enjoy this body swap a little more than he originally planned it to be. He wants to test out some theory he had in mind just to check if they are real, this could be a real scientific discovery. Q grinned, eyes sparkling in excitement to all the knowledge he can get from this rare unfortunate accident.

 

James watches curiously at the boffin’s face morph from happiness to pure excitement and he knew very well that face, Q is up to something and he is going to get involved in his little scheme.

 

He is right when Q turn to face him with a big grin plastered on his face. ‘Oh god. I am not ready to see my own face making that sort of grin at me. It feels weird.’ James thought as he watches Q’s eyes fill with a plan.

 

“Mr Bond, how good at you in staying in character?” Q finally ask.

 

“Good enough to take down a government and seduce people.” James shrugs nonchalantly.

 

“Good to know. We are going to be each other for a long time. Our first task is to get out of this hell hole, get a few weeks off work and figure out how to get ourself switched back.” Q smiles as he rubbed his hands together as plans forms in his brilliant mind. _Not his own mind but James’s brain which is full of ways to kill people._ Q is loving the new him and it scares him how much he took to it like a duck to water.

 

Meanwhile, James looks around checking his environment as he listens to Q rattle off about his plans.

 

“So James we will be getting out of this hell hole after we get a change of clothes. My butt is starting to freeze from this bloody thing. Why do they even make us wear this? Back to topic, since I am the quartermaster, I will get us a few weeks off to deal with this madness. Hopefully, we can fix it…” James just nods at Q not listening to what he is saying.

 

James wonders how he even got into the worst kind of trouble even when he is not finding for it. James was planning to have a lovely day of returning his intact equipment and asking Q out for a drink but Lady Luck was not on his side for the day. Q was in a horrible mood when he saw him and James felt his heart hurt to know Q’s mood sour due to him. But James could not blame him after what he has done.

 

Q wave his hands in front of James’s eyes to catch his attention. “Earth to Commander Bond. Did you hear what I said?”

 

James grins and scratches his head in embarrassment.”I stopped listening after you said ‘ _Butt_ ’.”

 

Q just rubs his temples in annoyance. _’Even when he is in my body with full control of my brain, he still could send me over the edge. Lord save me from idiot agents.’_

 

Q looking for a button and called the doctor as he explains to James again the plan before they arrive. Hoping this time around James will pay attention and follow the plan closely. He breathes out to calm himself as footsteps approach them.

 

“ _Q_ are you alright? Are you feeling pain?” Dr Catherine asks with concern written on her face as she enters their bedside. Q feels happy to see her rather than other nurses, she is kind to him whenever he needs medical attention.

 

“I’m fine, just want to be discharged.” Q smiles at her.

 

Dr Catherine frown at him. “Good to see that you are alive _Bond._ I am no longer surprised to see you when something terrible happen. How are you feeling _Q_?” Dr Catherine turns to James and pats his hand.

 

Q opened his mouth to protest and shut it when he realized, _he is no longer Q._ He is now wearing Bond's face for unknown time till he can fix it. Q felt his heart hurt with the possibility of never getting back his body, he will be James Bond forever if there is no way to reverse this process.

 

“I’m not…” Q elbowed James before he could finish his sentence. James recovered quickly and plastered a smile on his face before answering to Dr Catherine that he is fine and wants to go home.

 

Dr Catherine checked the file in the tablet and nods at them.

 

“ _James,_ if you dare to cause more trouble for _Q_ again God help me I will not hesitate to poison you next time you come in.” Dr Catherine glares at Q before she walks off to get their release ready.

 

Q shivers at the threat and turns to James. "Why does she hate you so much? Catherine is the sweetest person around.”

 

“I dated her once while I was new to MI6. Broke her heart when I was made 007.” James admitted sheepishly.

 

“Not surprised. That explains a lot of things. Come on Mr _Q,_ time to make our escape from this place.” Q took James' hands and dragged him all the ways to employees lockers for spare clothes as he explains to James how he is planning to get them the leave. Q knew James could not see as well without the glasses and his only spare is at the locker room.

 

\----------------------------------------------------

 

Q stood in the locker room wide eyes, eyes fixed on the suit bag James produced from his locker. He is not expecting James to hand him a tailored suit must less a Tom Ford suit. Last time Q remember wearing a suit it was for an official meeting with MI5 head and it was not his idea to wear it, M insisted him to be dressed in it. Q was in a foul mood when he appeared for that particular meeting which all went to hell anyway.

 

“James... Do you perhaps have something a little more casual? Maybe a t-shirt or polo?” Q made a face at the suit.

 

“What is wrong with the suit?” James question as he strips himself of the scratchy garment and tossed it into the bin.

 

Q eyes widen as he watches James walk around stark naked in his body. _His body! And James is comfortable to do so right in front of him. Do agents no longer understand the meaning of shame?_

 

“I just don’t like to wear a suit right now. And Bond, please cover up my body. Have some shame.” Q cough to cover up the blush creeping up his neck. He felt weird to see himself through James’s eyes although he admits that he does have nice pale skin. Q mentally smacked for having that thought of himself.

 

James crosses over to his locker and pulled out a stack of clothes with shoes and pushed it into Q’s arm. Q looks at the bundle of clothes in his arms and blinks again. James just handed him his ‘casual’ clothes but it was no much better than the suit.

 

Q brisk walked into the private bathroom stall to get dress and slams the door shut. Q let out the breath he was holding in when he finally locked the door. Q place the change of clothes on the rack. He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled on the knot holding the hospital garment together and let it fall to the floor. Q let out a small gasp when he finally opens his eyes and he came face to face with James’s reflection again for the second time of the day. This time he did not panic, he studied the face he is wearing now and observes it. Q let his hand trace on the bullet wounds and the scars littering his body. Q is now _James Bond,_ the man he always longs for the longest time.

 

Q snapped himself of the little trance and pulled on the pants and trousers, willing himself to look away from where his eyes keep falling to. It is embarrassing to be dressing another man’s body especially the body of the man you have dreams about nightly of not too nice situations. Q wonder how long he will go on without giving himself a raging erection from seeing the body he is occupying daily. Q has always dreamed of seeing James’s body up close, his wish has been granted but it is fulfilled in a twisted way of a body switch.

 

****

 

While Q was hidden away in the private bathroom James too was wondering how weird the situation is. It was just the day before he was happy to see Q and wanted to make him smile and now he is occupying the body of the person he cares deeply. The universe works in a mysterious way and Jame could never figure out how it truly works. The situations that he has been involved in is getting more and more absurd in the passing days. James sighs and pulled on the T-shirt with the prints of NASA logo on it and let himself smile to see the boffin’s choice of clothes. He always knew Q is a geek by nature and seeing this shirt lighten his mood inversely. He straightens his posture and checked his reflection on the small mirror when he heard the soft click of the bathroom door. James is now _Q_ and it is time for him to play the part.

 

“You looks great Q.” James grinned at the boffin who is dressed in a black turtleneck and black jeans.

 

Q narrowed his eyes at him and hissed at him. “This is your body, you narcissist. You just complimented yourself!”

 

James shrugs and continues checking Q out from head to toe checking to make sure he has dressed his body properly.

 

Q took that chance to pushed his spare glasses onto his body as James blink at him. “You should invest in contact lenses Q,” James commented as he adjusted the glasses, wild curls falling to his forehead. James tried to tame it but the attempt is futile. The curls won and soon James gave up trying to make it looks presentable.

 

James continues grinning and pulled at the jeans he is wearing. He felt the jeans hug his bottom, he appreciates how it makes Q’s body look in them. Q’s bottom is to die for and he wonders if it is weird for him to squeeze the bottom since technically the body is not his but it is on loan to him for the time being. James shrugs and squeezed it much to the horror of Q who slap his hands away.

 

“Oii! That is my body you are violating! Hands off, we need to get to M now.” Q glares at him.

 

James smirk and squeeze his bottom again in a challenge to Q.

 

“Hey stop that right this instance!” Q growled at him with his new deeper voice. James shiver at the commanding tone his voice is producing and how Q is using it. James calms himself quickly and smiles.

 

“What's yours is mine.” James grins and winked at Q as he sauntered out of the locker room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize to everyone who had hard time reading the words in Scottish accent. I will put some translation here. I am not great with Scottish accent but I thought it might be fun for me to include it here because I always want James Bond to speak in Scottish accent. 
> 
> _Gie yer hans aff me!_ = Get your hands off me!  
>  _I hae seen mair bloodier things than an explosion.Aam nae Q._ = I have seen more bloodier things than an explosion. I'm not Q.  
>  _Whit is mah body daein' thera?_ = What is my body doing there?  
>  _'at is mah body!_ = That is my body.  
>  _Aam James._ = I'm James.


	3. Meet Oliver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for them to take a week of leave and hopefully figure out each other. But what will James do when he realized the minions now look at him differently?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 3 after a long time. Sorry for the long wait! I finally managed to sit myself down to finish this chapter since I keep getting distracted by other fics. 
> 
> Thanks to all those who come back to read this.

M narrowed his eyes at the two people sitting in front of him. He looks at them and studied the emotion on their faces trying to catch a lie. _James_ and _Q_ are unreadable but he could still see a slight twitch in _James_ ’ face that was not noticeable unless one had years of dealing with agents and their incredibly convincing poker face. Their jobs made them experts at telling lies.

 

He left his eyes bore through _James_ for a moment before he studies _Q_ . Something seems off when _Q_ just looks bored while _James_ does not even talk back to him but he just could not put a finger to it. M dismissed it for them still trying to recover from the explosion and being not quite themselves just yet. M flips through their medical files and looks up, watching _Q_ who is currently tugging on his hair in a failed attempt to flatten his hair again.

 

“You want me to give you a week off from work for recover _Bond_?” He shuffled a bunch of papers on his desk to busy himself sometimes.

 

Q clear his throat and answered, “Yes sir, a week for both of us to recover from the shock.”

 

“And _Quartermaster_ will you be fine with taking the week off?” M directed the question to James who is still toying with the curls.

 

James forced a smile and nod his head hoping M will not suspect them for being a little off, he just knows M might notice it but thank God he did not press for more information. With his agreement, M signed their leave papers and shooed them out of their office after threatening Q that if he ever harms a hair on their supposed Quartermaster’s head, he can kiss his status as a double-oh goodbye along with his beloved car. James snickers at the role reversal with everyone thinking that they are threatening him but instead it is directed at the boffin.

 

‘If only they knew.’ James smiles as he cheerily wished Eve a good day with a grin as the now sulking Q follow behind mumbling about death and smug agents. Eve mouthed to James what is wrong as she points to Q. James just shrug and tries to look as clueless as possible. He did not want to bother explaining what is wrong since Q warned him not to let anyone know about their situation just yet. James for once agrees fully with what Q said and listen to his quartermaster for this time around.

 

Q puffed out his breath once the elevator door shuts, his straight posture now loosens and emotions played on his face. They are now on their way down to Q-branch before they can head home. Q needs to ensure that during his absence, MI6 will remain standing. He does not feel at ease unless he is the one to set up the protocols and check the status before he can leave. James stood at the corner watching Q. His years of experience told him that Q is feeling distressed and at a loss for what to do even if he is trying to keep his emotions in check. James does not blame him. Even he who has seen the worst of the world would be lost when facing a situation as such.

 

“Q… Everything will be alright. I promise.” James tried his best to assure the young boffin with a smile in hope Q will take it as a good sign. James narrowed the space between them and wrapped his arm around him for a hug. He hopes the hug came off warm although he is struggling to get the intensity of the hug to be just like how he intended it to. His arms felt weak compared to the muscular one he is hugging now.

 

_‘Dam this body and its weak strength. I feel like a child in this bloody body.’_ James curses internally in his mind.

 

But at the back of his mind, he wonders if the switching of bodies will affect the dreams and nightmares that he usually has. James does not wish upon anyone the nightmares he has, they are bad enough to chew a person up and turn them insane. James does not want Q to see all the atrocities he had to perform in the name of the nation and the Queen. He is just a tool to England that gets used when needed for the greater good. James does not want to taint Q with all the blood staining his hands. He does not want Q who is pure in his eyes to be plagued with all the monsters from his past, the nightmares that kept him awake. All the monsters he had put down for the good of the nation, Vesper who betrayed him, innocent lives that were taken and himself. Worst of them all is himself, the monster in the form of a human called James Bond.

 

The lift pinged indicating their arrival to the underground leading to Q-branch. James loosens his face to morph it to look more gentle and kind just like how he imagine Q to be in his mind. He turns to see Q letting out a long slow breath as he steps out into the busy branch, his previous emotions now gone. He adjusted his shirt and pats his turtleneck to straighten out the non-existence crease as he enters the department which he calls his second home at the amount of time he spends it here. But now he enters the branch not as their Quartermaster but as _James Bond_ and he will act the part.

 

The minions froze and slowly look up feeling the presence of an agent, worst of all their most feared agent now present in their branch who is scanning the area like a predator. The terrified looks they give him froze Q at the spot, his heart drops yet again realizing that everyone sees him as _James_ the notorious troublemaker of Q-branch whenever he comes down to visit. The breaker of all the wonderful pieces of equipment and cars that one could only dream of being given. The pain in the ass as what Q has named him in the past. That is his fate now until he can get his body back.

 

He sees R rushing up to him and let out a happy gasp until she pushes right past him towards James who is now in her arms for a tight happy hug. She hugs him for a long time and Q can clearly see James being very uncomfortable at the hug he is currently receiving from the second head of Q-branch. James is awkwardly stroking her back not knowing what to do with his hands, as an agent he does not get many hugs unless it is from Alec. R finally let go of him and held James in place to check his body for visible damage, turning and poking at areas.

 

“Oh _Q_ , you had all of us worried when they pull your body out of the lab along with Bond. We thought we are going to lose you. I’m so glad to see you are doing well with minimal damage.” R gives James a shaky smile of relief. Q feels both jealous and sad knowing that smile is not directed at him as it always does when he is with R. He feels lonely as he is very close to R who is like an aunt to him. Q is no longer as enthusiastic about having James body now since he will no longer be able to interact as he usually does with all those who he cares for. Even the minions are scared of him from how the passing jumps when he coughs. He wonders how the other agents will treat him since he has no clue.

 

_‘Is that really how everyone sees James? In fear? How does he live with that? Does the other agents fear James too?’_ Q question himself.

 

“Good to see you are fine too, _Bond_.” R simply nod at him as she walks off. Q could hear the unhappiness in her voice when she said ‘Bond’. Some of the minions rush up to surround James to ask how he is doing and if he as the overlord need helps with some project while he is recovering, unaware of their body switch. He does not blame them, after all, they can’t tell which soul is in the body unless told but even then people will think they must be nuts. Q decides to just leave James with his excited minions as he slips away to his office, quickly swipes his card and key in the lengthy code to open the door since he could no longer use his fingerprint and retina scanner. Q sighs as he enters his office and plops himself down onto his spare futon at the corner. He felt a little calmer when the familiar scent of his office surrounds him along with the beeps of the computer.

 

He rubs his tired face which feels weird to him. He is not yet used to the texture of James’s face with stubbles, his own body usually only producing fine hair. His face always felt smooth making him appear younger than his age. He tried a few times to grow it out but usually, it takes too much effort and time to make it decent so he stuck to always being clean shaved.

 

Q feels drained and sadness sets in when he finally stop telling himself that all will be fine. He wants to break down, cry, scream and be angry but he stops himself from breaking character. They have made a promise and he plans to keep it to the very end even if he is feeling lost and frustrated. _No time for emotions_. He chides himself. A soft click broke the silence and he quickly rubs his face to hide the evidence of tears before it can be spotted.

 

“Q. Can I just hide here until we leave? I am not sure how to deal with the occupants of the branch until you have told me how to. The look of admiration the minions are giving me is really unnerving and I have never seen R smiled at me like that before. She has never been friendly let alone caring before the switch. She usually gives me the feeling of not liking me much, in fact, I wonder if she might decide to give me faulty equipment one day out of spite or even go through with one of her threats. Hopefully not the one about my jewels.” James slowly slides down beside him and hug his knees. James takes off the glasses and rubs his eyes with a groan. His nose bridge hurts. James too looks very lost at that moment, Q felt a little better to know he is not the only one facing the conflict and even the great 007 is also on the same boat.

 

Q let out a soft snicker and pat James’ head out of nothing to do. He was also tempted at that moment to touch his hair that looks awfully soft. The hair practically begs to be touched.

 

“That is what happens when you now occupying the body of MI6 youngest Quartermaster. You will be fine as long as you listen to their ideas even if it sounds ridiculous and makes a few comments no matter how small they are. They will be happy to leave you alone if you are busy until they have more ideas. Know when to say no and when to tell them that you are busy but always remember to make time for them when it comes to ideas. They are a brilliant lot of people. Oh and remember to give them some cookies or snacks once in a while even if it means leaving it on their desk. We get hungry easily and forget to eat most of the time. I think I have an entire storage area in the branch with munchies to be handed out. There will always be someone going around going out snacks or taking drinks orders. And James... remember this, try not to scare them too much. You are their quartermaster now, they need you to guide them. They are a really sweet lot of people if you get to know them in time. Some of them will come up and ask you to give them hugs or head pats, in some cases just remember to judge the situation and act accordingly. Some of them want hugs but are too afraid to ask. As for R just try not to butt heads with her about grapefruit. Other than that she is great to be around. ” Q shivers at the thought of R hurling a grapefruit.

 

“Why not?” James question.

 

“Don't ask. It is a sad story involving a Tee shirt gun and very very painful bruises that lasted days.”

 

James nods his understanding still curious about the grapefruit part. He guess it is easy enough to get to know the minions, he is quite fond of them even if they seem to be afraid of him for reasons he could guess. James watches Q walk off to get his laptop and sits back down beside him on the futon. He watches Q turn it on and start coding in different protocols for his short leave. Although the boffin is now in his body it is still a sight to watch his fingers fly across the keypad putting in lines after lines of codes although he did struggle for a few minutes before he picked up speed, sometimes squinting at the laptop. James let his eyes scan through the lines and realize to his amazement, he does understand most of the lines.

 

James hums in agreement with the codes as Q types it out in rapid succession as the screen starts to fill with layers and layers of codes. James has always enjoyed watching him work and had sit in a few late nights to watch him do his magic with the excuse of bringing him food to ensure the boffin does not die from starvation. Usually, Q will shoo him off with a flick of his hand but James will always stay even when he was told to leave. Many of those who are in Q-branch knows to leave him alone as long as he is not causing trouble for anyone. James always considers staying in Q-branch as the few joys of being back in England other than getting to sleep the whole day away. He can be near this fluffy hair boffin and watch his brilliant mind create items no one have ever thought of and that excites him even if he is just doing the watching.

 

James eyes slowly started to droop shut as he slowly drifts to sleep. James continues smiling to himself at the thoughts he is having as he rests his head on his knees, not noticing the boffin from his thought is done with his coding and is now just watching him rest.

 

Q silently watches, running his eyes over his own body that is now wearing a soft smile. James looks so much in peace with his eyes closed and the soft brown curls brushing over his cheek that is tainted with a soft hue of pink from the cold. Q wonder what James is thinking to have such a soft smile grace his body’s lips. He is not sure if he should be waking James up and telling him that they should leave soon or just let him rest. It is such a peaceful sight to see his rest without trouble. He knew James never have good night sleep unless he drank from all the late nights they talk while he is on mission. He decides to just let James have his rest.

 

Q slowly reach to stroke James’ cheek. A soft knock on the door caused him to pull his hand back before his fingers could touch the cheek. Q pull himself up and cross the room with a few strides to see who is disturbing their alone time.

 

“What is it?” he asks, his tone coming out annoyed as he wrenches open the door with too much force to come face with a trembling minion who yelps at seeing him.

 

The poor minion is trembling like a leave as he stood in front of him. Q feels bad for the minions who is shakingly ask him “Mr Bond, sir… Is...Is Q available to look at my reports? It is fffi..fine if he can’t now. I’m so sorry for disturbing you.” His eyes are wide like two saucers as he looks at him in terror. The minion is clutching on to a file and his knuckles are turning white from how hard he is holding it.

Q clear his throat as he morphs his face into a friendly smile and he steps aside to let the minion see that _Q_ is currently napping.The minion peers past his arm. He lets out a small gasp and nods his head vigorously at him to show his understanding of why their overlord is unavailable now. Q took the file that the minion is clutching in his arm.

 

“Thank you, Carl. I will make sure Q sees it first thing when he wakes from his little slumber. ”

 

The minion’s eyes widen and he stares at James. “How did you know my name?”

 

Q shrug and grin. “I’m an agent, a double-oh with a license to kill and majesty’s most efficient spy. I know things. Like how you keep taking a lick out of the peanut butter jar in the branch pantry and then putting it back.”

 

A blush crept up on to the minion’s face and a soft _Oh no_ could be heard as he ran off. Q wonder if he is acting out of character for smiling at the minions. _‘Does James even have a friendly smile he shows to others? Maybe to the girls he likes or is he faking that too?’_ He questioned himself as he shut the door softly, hoping he did not wake James up from his nap.

 

He was wrong to assume James could sleep through the sounds. Even when he had a body switch James is still very much an agent, his eyes still sharp and always a light sleeper ready to be on the move.

 

“Did I fall asleep?” James questioned as he slides back his glasses to his face and scrunched his face, “I am still not used to these glasses. You should get contacts lenses, it will take the pressure off your nose. I could feel it pinching my nose now.”

 

Q just shrugged at him and went back to looking at the file handed to him by the minion before storing it in his bag. The is a good reason why he does not wear contact lenses. He does have contact lenses but he just doesn’t want to poke his eyes out half the time while putting it in. He usually works late hours and contact lenses hurt his eyes especially when he forgets to add eye drops to keep them moist. Last time he did wore it while at work it made it eyes turn red from the dryness. It was too much of a hassle for him, glasses work better. Then again everyone is too used to seeing him in glasses that they will ask him if he has lost his glasses if he turns up to work without it one of the days.

 

“Pack up James, we’re leaving soon.” Q toss a bag at him which James caught mid-air.

 

James promptly went back to fiddling with the glasses not yet used to the weight on his nose bridge. Q started packing all the items he will need during his time period of their absence from work. James eyes him curiously, choosing to sit and watch Q bustling around the office. By the time he is done James is quirking his eyebrow at him.

 

“I don’t think we need all those items? Do you need all those?” James questions as Q hands him the bag to carry.

 

Q just shrug. “You never know what might happen while we are gone. We are pretty much good to go. Now go ask R for the key to _The Car._ She will understand.”

 

James’s eyes lid up in excitement for a moment before it went into a face of disinterest he usually wears when Q talks about technology. Q know it is all an act he is putting up but decide not to point it out. James went off in search of R and Q let himself grin. He can't wait to see the look on James’s face when they reach the car park. Q slowly follows James through the branch.

 

“R can I have the keys for _The Car?”_ James asks R with a smile which he hopes he is not overdoing. James is internally happy and looking forward to seeing the car Q is referring to, he imagines it to be a prototype he is working on. The idea of being the first to test it out excites him. Usually, Q-branch is not a big fan of letting him take any of their cars out for test mainly due to him crashing it or breaking it. James will freely admit that he is sorry for breaking the beauties especially in high-risk situations but Q never takes his apologies.

 

“Are you sure you want _The Car_ ? I don’t think you should be driving after the accident especially in _The Car._ I can arrange an MI6 chauffeur to send you back.” R asks with a note of concern.

 

“Don’t worry about it. I will have _James_ drive it. I am sure he has driven cars even in the worst conditions than a little explosion.” James replies quickly hoping R will just hand him the key. He did hope the praise he gave himself does not felt out of character espically coming out of _Q’s_ lips.

 

R eyes him a moment and fish out a key from the shelf. “ _Q_ just make sure he does not crash it. I don’t trust him to go near Oliver especially how much work and effort you put into building him from scratch. _James_ is not the most gentlest driver around, even Robert who just learned to drive a few weeks ago is a better driver than him and he has only scratched his car twice while turning the corner.”

 

A loud ‘ _Oii_ ’ could be heard before the entire branch burst out into laughter. James guessed the loud ‘ _Oii_ ’ came from the aforementioned Robert and laughs along with the branch. R drops the keys into his palm and pat his back before she gives a glare at James as she walks past him.

 

“Oh before I forget, _James._ I don’t care that you are a Double-Oh but if you dare to crash the car or harm a hair on _Q’s_ head. **I.Will.End.You.** This is not a warning but a threat I will carry out, Commander.” R warns Q with a smile before she continues on her way. Q just raised his hand in surrender and grins at James who visibly gulping at the threat. Q wonder how R will react if she finds out the person she is threatening is him instead of James who she is intending it to be for. It will be fun to watch when the cat is finally out of the bag.

 

“Shall we get going?” Q asks James, “Thank you, everyone, and make sure the branch is still standing when I come back. Live long and prosper.” Q waves to all with a Vulcan salute to a branch of minions who gasped and saluted back at him. Q mentally smacked himself for the last sentence but no one seems to question his behaviour. It is just force of habit.

 

Q press his hand to James’s back to guide him out of the branch. He wants to go home to his cats and cuddle them after a crazy day. Q realize they have yet to come up with a plan for behaviour if they are going to be each other.  

 

James turns around to wave goodbye and the branch echoes back their well wishes and R giving him a grin with a wink that says ‘Go get him Tiger’ as they exit. James is now jingling the keys in his palm as they walk to the carpark, his steps light. Q felt bad now to tell him to lower his expectation but decided it is better for James to see than him telling him. Q pulls out his tablet and looks at the update as he follows James who guided him along with hand to his arm.

 

“I will do the driving. I’m sure you are not used to driving on the busy streets of London at this timing.” James smiles at him as they cross the parking lot.

 

Q gave him a glare and snatched the car fob out of his hand and press to locate the car. “Says the person who wrecked every single car I ever built. The last car you brought back has holes in it. Holes! How do you even get holes in a bulletproof car from even driving it?! You are not destroying Oliver. Not a chance. Never! Stay away from my precious!”

 

James chuckles at the reaction he managed to get out of the now pouting boffin. Q rolled his eyes. He wants to get home and rest or even get some of his laundry done. They came to the stand in front of the car and James gasp at what is presented in front of him. Q grins and touches the bonnet of the car. “Beautiful isn’t he? My Oliver.”

 

“That is Oliver? This is _The Car_ you were referring to? You're precious? The car you built from scratch that R is talking about as ‘ _The Car_ ’?” James exhaled not believing what he is seeing.

 

“Yes, this is _The Car._ Oliver, my pride and joy.” Q lightly stroke the bonnet and adjusted the side mirror. Q loves his car, it is a total beauty but it is disappointing since he could never drive it daily to work like he wanted to. He is usually too tired most of the time to drive without getting into an accident. Being Quartermaster takes energy and time out if him but he does enjoy working here.

 

“Q! It is a 1963 Opel Kadett. A piece of junk with only 40 horsepower or less. That can't even be considered as a car. Which old lady handed it to you?” James groan.

 

Q glares at him and rubs away non-existence dirt from the windscreen. “Hey don’t call Oliver a piece of junk, he is a beauty and we are going home with him. You can walk if you want but I am taking Oliver home.”

 

“Well, then I will just walk than ride this piece of junk!”

 

“Your hurting Oliver's feeling by calling him junk.” Q stroke the car like he is trying to comfort a crying child.

 

James rolls his eyes. He is not going to fall for this emotional blackmail. While James was having an internal monologue about not wanting to be caught dead in it, Q got into his car willing to leave James here if he is stubborn enough not to get in.

 

Q does not wait to see if James get in as he clicks his seatbelt on. Bond can screw himself for calling his treasure a piece of junk, he took many days to make his car perfect. He might like building cars for the agents but this car would be the best he has ever done. Sure Oliver looks like a piece of junk when he first got it from the junkyard but now Oliver looks brand new and everyone from Q-branch is very fond of this car.

 

Q grins when he hard the other side of the car click shut. James is visibly sulking for having to get in but he does not care.

 

“Just because I got it does not mean I like this car any better. I just feel that it will be a global catastrophe if the youngest Quartermaster of MI6 gets kidnapped or killed on the street.” James hisses as he clicks his seatbelt on. Q just smirk. Let the man deny all he wants.

 

Q fiddles with the rearview mirror and starts the engine. The engine sputters to life and Q let himself smile as pulled out of the lot. James is still sulking when they drove past the security gate. The two guards doing their duty raised their eyebrows when the car approaches the gate. Q lowers the window and smile at the guard who peeks in for identification.

“Hello, Jason. How was the day?” Q greet the guard cheerfully as he hands him both of their identifications card. The younger guard who took the passes look at him wide eyes before disappearing back to the guard's booth. Q is confused why he have reacted that way until he realizes his error. Q mentally kicks himself again for acting out of character or not usually how James will on a normal day.

 

James smirks at the side as he watches different emotions of confusion, realization and horror plays on his Quartermaster's face. It is highly amusing for James to watch his face making weird faces usually, he will try not to caught having an odd facial expression but today he doesn’t care much.

 

“Stop laughing at me.” Q hiss at James as the two guards walk around to check their car. James could not help but shrug in reply still holding his amused grin.

 

A soft knock at the window and James lower his window.“All is in order. Have a good day, Sir. Have a good rest too, Q.” Came the voice as their passes are passed back. James decided at that moment to give a bright smile just because he is in Q body. Q grunt in response as they pull out into the busy London street.

 

The two guards look at each other. “Did Bond just ask me how I am doing and smile in a non-threatening way? And what is he doing in Q’s car?” The older of the guard shakes his head and told him to just pretend like nothing had ever happened and never to talk about it. Somethings are best not to question especially when you work in MI6. Things get really weird working here.

 

****

 

“Ah, I hate the London traffic. Now I know why I never drive during this hours.” Q groans in his seat when his car comes to a slow crawl in the busy street jammed packed with vehicles. A few bicycles weave through the cars which makes Q nervous for the cyclist especially in this condition of the traffic. He does hope none of them gets run over while he is driving not that he is a bad driver. Q is a great driver from years of testing the cars he built but he is still terrified of knocking into a cyclist.

 

“Q start driving before we hold up half of London.” a voice from his side breaks the relative silence before a barrage of honking starts behind him.

 

Q rolls his eyes. London. Can't hate her and can't love her either. What a nice drive he is having right now with all the honking.

 

‘Impatient bastards.’ He thought.

 

“Learn how to drive! I have no time for your idiotical driving.” Shouted the driver that overtake him to be at his front.

 

Now Q realizes why he never drives at all. Humans and their need to be rude. The world would have been nicer if there were lesser of this rudeness.

 

Q press a button on his dashboard which produces a touch screen for him. “Say hello to my little friend.” Q mumbles with a grin.

 

James' eyes widen at the sight of the screen. “What are you planning to do?”

 

“Nothing much. Maybe just a few flat tires ought to teach this bloke some manners.” Q smirks as he bats away James’ hand that is reach for the screen. And he presses the touchpad.

 

There were two short explosions in front of him and the car that overtook them comes to a halt. Q’s eyes glitter and smirked at the driver who is in distress now from the exploded tires. Thankfully he is not driving fast enough to lose control of the car.

 

James grabs on to Q’s hand when it reaches for the other button. “Nope. Absolutely not. Enough if this, Q. We should not be causing a scene after the situation we are in. We can’t just explode the tire of a civilian just because they cut you off.” James shakes his head at the boffin who makes a groan to be stopped for his little fun.

 

“You are no fun. And it is the zenith of hypocrisy I might add for you to scold me when you are the person who blows stuff up and gets civilians into a lot of mess at every mission.” Q snap back.

 

“That is different.”

 

“Do enlighten me how that is different?” the boffin questions.

 

James just shakes his head again at the boffin and Q rolls his eyes as he glares at the driver who offends him earlier. Q quickly flash a finger at him before he speeds off. James was about to chide him for his poor behaviour but stopped when he heard the sound. He pressed the horn again and James’ eyebrows nearly fall off from his face from how high it raised at the sound of the horn.

 

“Oh look, Oliver has a cold.” Q makes a few coughs, grins and presses the horn again much to the annoyance of James.

 

“Just drive, Q. We got to pack up the stuff from your house to get back to mine.”

 

“Why are we going to your house?” Q whine which is hilarious especially with James’ voice.

 

“Because it is safer and I want to keep my eyes on you and make sure you at least feed my body instead of starving it.” James ends the entire conversation with that tone. Q know there is no point complaining. H decided that he might as well go along with it.

 

****

 

Q is sulking right now, his black turtleneck covered all over with cat hair and a few visible scratches on his hands. Q is still miserable even when they parked in the underground parking lot. He is still frowning when they took the lift up to James’ top floor apartment, even scowling at a nice old lady in the lift with her poodle that was barking at them. James chuckles.  

 

“We’re here, Q. Make yourself at home.” James’ voice broke the frustrated thoughts Q is having.

 

Q mumbled a thank you for opening the door to the house and search for a place to put his duffle bag down. He gasps when he looks up seeing the apartment living room and nearly fell over at the view from the balcony. He expected the place to be a mess or very empty since James does move houses quite a bit and was never in the house long enough to live in it. The house is very much lived in and cosy too. What attracted his attention were items hung up on the walls.   
  
“You have signed pictures with the Doctors?! How did you do that? Is that the sword of Glamdring?! How did you get that? Is it sharpened?” gasp as he walks by every single piece of the items that lined the walls. He is like a child in a candy shop as he went through all the items. Excited squeals could be heard.

 

James grins at Q’s reaction to his home, in fact, he is expecting it. He rarely let anyone who knows him well to come over to his house especially this particular one unless they are a 6’2” vodka chugging pyromaniac called Alec. Most people who did visit him or those who he did bring back for the night never see this apartment. This apartment is his asylum, the place he bought after years of saving up and spent a lot of his downtime making it perfect. He had a hard time keeping it out of the record of MI6 but Olivier Mansfield along with Major helped him keep it hidden under another name and well taken care of when he is gone. He knows that even if he was assumed dead and his items sold off, he will always have a place to get back to without worrying.

 

James opens the door of the cage letting two of Q’s cats out of their carriers. They sprinted out and made a home for themselves among the mountain of cushions near the corner, their bells jingling with each movement.

 

“Seems like the cats love the cushions.” James chuckles. Q look away from the poster he is admiring, glares at him and the cats.

 

“They are a pack of traitors. They won’t even look at me when I approach them.” Q sulks as he eyes his cats. “And they’re willingly going to you even without being called. Traitors!”

 

James shrug. “Cats are known as a creature with a mind of their own for a reason. I like Runny and Artemis, they are sweet cats.” James beamed as he strokes both of them who have climbed on his lap once he sat down among the cushions.

 

“Their names are Rami and Aramis. God James! At least get their names right. You know what, never mind. Have them, I shall just be all alone and sad not like any of you two ungrateful cats care.” Q stalk off towards what he thought was the kitchen.

 

“Don’t listen to the raving of the very handsome man my darlings,” James whispers to both the cats on his laps that are purring like two fine motors. He watches as Q walk out back from the direction he went to before plopping himself on to the sofa.

 

“I hate you James for doing all of this to me. I was supposed to have a quiet day and things always go wrong when you are present.” Q continue sulking but it turns out more of an angry frown, not yet used to having James’ body.

 

James just chuckles, stroking the cats. James felt at peace holding the cats. He always dreams of keeping a pet but his work schedules and need to keep flying away made it hard for him to have one. The last thing he wanted was to keep finding a last-minute pet sitter when he went on his emergency trips. Rami flips to his back and exposes his tummy to James in a way of saying ‘Slave! Rub my tummy now!’ which he gladly obliged.

 

James decided to take pity on the sulking boffin and carries the two cats to the sofa, letting one of them sit on Q’s lap. Aramis’ blue eyes look at Q trying to figure out if this new human who tried to grab him previous is of any danger. The new human is frowning but does not seem to want to hurt him so he decided to sit on his lap.

 

Q gasped. He felt his heart leaps as Aramis’ grey paws pressed into his thighs. Q would have cried on the spot to be finally accepted by his cat but his happiness was short lived when Aramis jumped off his lap and walked off.

 

‘Better than nothing.’ He decided. ‘Can’t get them all but at least he trusts James’ body enough to stay. One down, another to go and Rami will be hard.’

 

“What do you want to do now?” Q turns to ask but James was nowhere to be seen. Rami sat beside him and meow.

 

‘Dam those agents and their quiet footsteps.’ He got off in search of his body not before trying to pat his head.

 

“James?” He calls out walking to the room with the open door.

 

James now shirtless and undoing his trousers. Q nearly turn away and apologise for coming in unannounced until he remembers that it is his body that is being undressed even if he is not occupying it now.

 

“What the hell are you doing with my body!” he yells and James’ hand jerks away from the zipper.

 

James cocked his eyebrow. “Getting undressed for a shower? I want to wash away the smell of the hospital.”

 

Q close the distance between them and shakes his head, holding James hand away from his trousers.

 

“Nope! You are not going to wash my body or going to see my body in the nude.”

 

James tries to wiggle his hand out of the grip but his effort was fruitless, Q now has his body and the strength of the grip on his hand hurts. “Q, you're hurting me. Let me go.”

 

Q let go of the James’ hand like he was burned and apologise. James pouts and rubs at the sore hand to relieve the pain.

 

“Than what do we do? We can’t just not shower just because you have an issue with me seeing your body. I’m fine with you seeing mine, just let me shower.” James reasons hoping it will work. James really wants to shower. As much as he would love to see what he has to work with but that is the least of his worry, James needs that shower. He wants to scrub away the chemicals and feel the warm water on his body that aches.

 

Q though for a moment and his eyes fall on to the innocent tie lying on the bed and a wide grin spread out on his lips as an idea form in his head. James gulps, the grin now does not look friendly especially when it is on his face. It unnerves him and wonders how others felt when he gives that sort of smile to them.

 

“I have a feeling I won’t like what you will be saying next.”

 

Q smile does not falter as he inches nearer to the agent who is slowly backed into the corner. James knew he is trapped when his back hits the wall.

 

“But James didn’t you say you wanted to have a bath?” his grin made James shiver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheers to all those who read this fic. Do feel free to give a kudos or comment if you like it. All comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. 
> 
> Kyu out!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Remember to give a kudos and comment if you wanna tell me something.


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